Has anyone replaced the pillar cover and underlying molded piece themselves? Just looking at it, it seems pretty straightforward.


1. Remove all the old bits from the piece that took flight (see attached pic), including the old clips
2. Clean up mounting surface
3. Stick on new "underlying molded piece"
4. Put on cover using new clips
5. Reinstall screws under the window trim

Am I missing anything else?

Thanks.

 

I did this a couple of months ago... wasn't very hard.

In your post above there's no mention of any double-sided sticky tape. My car had some holding the black outer piece to the windshield. It ran the length of the outer piece's edge, closest to the windshield... seemed to act as much as a seal (keep rain out?) as it did to help stick the piece to the car. It was just inside the edge of the outer piece running up and down, from the roof to the bonnet.... hope that describe's it's location well enough.

My new piece, ordered from the dealer, didn't come with any double-sided sticky tape, so I used my own.

 

This happened to me when my car was still under warranty. The A Pillar cover just flew away when I was driving 80 MPH. The dealer replaced the cover. After the installation I noticed a louder wind noise inside the car. In order to eliminate the wind noise and the possibility of the cover flying off again, I caulked the space between the windshield and the A Pillar cover with a 100% black colored silicon sealant that you use for home windows. You can buy this from Orchard. When you apply this between the seams, start from the top (roof line) and work your way down. After applying the sealant, use your index finger to run down the excess sealant and at the same time pushing the sealant deeper into the seams. That way you fill up the cavity. You will need a lot of paper towel to wipe the excess from your finger and from the windshield as well as from the A Pillar. Let it dry overnight. You can clean up the dry sealant that you missed wiping by rubbing your fingers on it.

Do the same for the other side. You will notice a remarkable difference in wind noise inside the cabin and confident that you will not lose your A Pillars again. Hope this will help you.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Got it back together without any major difficulties. The hardest part was getting the old clips out.

I didn't see any remnants of double-sided tape along the edge of the windshield, so I didn't add any new stuff there. That gap seems to be filled with the "underlying molded piece", so there didn't really seem to be any room for tape.

I also didn't add the black silicon, though I may do that in the future as insurance and because less wind noise would be very nice!

 

its very easy. it take 5 min. i had the machanic at the dealership do it 4 me n 1 gave him lunch money. its no big deal. just make sure u have al the pins in place.

 

I just did this the other day and your list is on point. It's very easy to do, about a 10 minute job. Good luck